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For critics, it’s much more than that. They warn that even if the system can be perfected — and there’s growing consensus in Washington, D.C., that the time has come to authorize certain basic and largely non-controversial improvements — it will do nothing to reduce gun violence.

President Barack Obama called on Congress to implement universal background checks as part of the gun-control proposals he unveiled in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six others were killed.

“It’s time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun,” Obama said. “If you want to buy a gun — whether it’s from a licensed dealer or a private seller — you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. This is common sense.”

Recent polling indicates that nearly everybody agrees — a CBS/New York Times poll put support for universal background checks at 92 percent, including 85 percent among those living in a household with an National Rifle Association member. Even Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), a hunter and gun rights advocate who has an “A” rating from the NRA, said on Thursday that he was working with lawmakers — and the NRA — on a bill to update and improve the check system.

“I’m working on a bill right now with other senators — Democrats and Republicans — we’re trying to get it, and looking at a background check that basically says that if you’re going to be a gun owner, you should be able to pass a background check to be able to get that, with exceptions,” Manchin told the MetroNews station in West Virginia. “I’m working with the NRA, to be honest with you, and talking to them.”

The effort to repair the system stems from widespread agreement that it’s rendered nearly useless because of two key problems: A giant-sized loophole exists in that some private sellers aren’t required to do checks; and many states aren’t providing the feds with the vital needed information to maintain a meaningful database of those who, legally, have no right to purchase firearms. In particular, this pertains to mental health problems and drug use.

“Most Americans support background checks, but they … have very little clue about what that means,” said David Kopel, a gun law expert and adjunct Constitutional law professor at the University of Denver. “When you phrase something in an attractive way like ‘universal background checks,’ who wouldn’t be for it? But if you get into the details, there’s a bit more grey-area.”

The FBI denied 72,659 attempted gun buys in 2010, based on red flags raised by the background check system, according to the most recent data available from the Department of Justice. That’s just 1.2 percent of the more than 6 million applications. The most common reasons: nearly half were felony indictment or conviction; 19 percent were fugitives; and 11 percent were those who had violated state laws. The rejection rate has been essentially unchanged over the years. (There is a right to appeal.)